The Curious World of "PRE-MAKES" !

     Hello friends! We’ve detected a trend here at the Radio Dial… a cover tune trend. In fact, six of the last seven previously reviewed songs on the blog all happened to be remakes. This wasn’t planned… it just worked out that way.

In response to this, I thought it would be fun to examine three relatively unknown original versions of tunes that are much better known through later smash hit covers. In fact most people aren’t aware that the well known versions of these tunes are remakes at all! 

It's time to delve into the world not of remakes... but of "pre-makes"! Everybody take your seats!

“She’s precocious, and she knows just what it takes to make a pro blush.

She’s got Greta Garbo’s standoff sighs, she’s got… Bette Davis Eyes!”

We begin our lesson with “Bette Davis Eyes”, the very song that Kim Carnes took to the top of the singles charts in 1981. Kim’s version held the #1 spot for a solid nine weeks, and was pulled from her Mistaken Identity LP.

However, the first recorded version of this iconic tune was released six years prior by its writer, Jackie DeShannon. Jackie was most familiar to radio listeners as the voice behind the pop classics “What the World Needs Now Is Love” (#7 /’65), and “Put A Little Love in Your Heart” (#4 /’69). By the mid 70’s, DeShannon’s hit making days were behind her, but she continued to release LPs, among them her 1975 New Arrangement album, which contained the original version of this great tune.

Jackie’s original draws from a curious hodgepodge of styles. I guess I’d call it “piano swing jazz and broadway influenced pop”. On top of that, Deshannon’s vocals here lean towards country, while her backing singers are taking a page from a soul songbook. Not sure if Jackie and her producers were trying to be ambitious by appealing to all listeners and genres, or they just weren’t sure what style they should record the tune in.

When listened to back to back, we hear that Kim’s hit version is quite a radical reimagining, effectively bringing the tune forcefully into the ‘80s with mysterious new wave synths and Kim’s raspy vocals accentuating the cryptic lyrics.  Listen to them below to hear the difference!

 

“The tide is high but I’m holdin’ on… I’m gonna be your number one…

I’m not the kind of man who gives up just like that… “

Chapter two in our lesson book deals with “The Tide Is High”, and no, that’s not a typo in the lyrics above. The original version of Blondie’s iconic 1981 hit was sung by a man, John Holt, as part of The Paragons, a Jamaican rocksteady group. The Paragons’ original was released in 1966 on their On the Beach LP, but never charted as it was not released as a single. Despite that, the song became a well known and loved regional pop success in Jamaica.

Rocksteady is considered to be a precursor to modern reggae, and blends American style jazz and soul, with African and Latin American influences. The Paragons’ version even leads off with some fiddle accompaniment!

Recorded at a slower tempo than Blondie’s version, The Paragons’ recording has a slightly somber feel, as if Holt is singing his woes into a strong drink at a Caribbean bar.

Blondie made the overall feel of the tune more “sunny” by changing the arrangement to reggae influenced new wave, and in the process making a huge hit out of the obscure tune. In fact, the cover was one of two US and UK chart topping singles from Blondie’s 1980 Autoamerican LP, the other being “Rapture”.

Click below to compare the two versions!

“I know a girl who’s soft and sweet… she’s so fine she can’t be beat.

Got everything that I desire… sets the summer sun on fire…
I want candy… I want candy.”

We wrap up our lesson with another song that, like The Tide Is High, switched the gender from the original to the remake. Let's examine "I Want Candy", remembered by most folks through the 1982 version by Bow Wow Wow.

Initially, the tune charted quite high (US #11) in its original 1965 version by The Strangeloves, a group of songwriters and producers comprising of Jerry Goldstein, Bob Feldman, and Richard Gottehrer, who masqueraded as the fictional "Strange Brothers" in promotional material, including on the sleeve of the I Want Candy LP.

The Strangelove’s version of the song possesses echoed vocals and a stomping beat… Bo Diddley spliced with surf rock.

Fast forward to 1982, in which new wave act Bow Wow Wow, headed up by 15 year old singer Annabella Lwin, made an appearance in the lower reaches of the US singles chart (#62) with their remake of the track, pulled from the Last of the Mohicans LP.

Changing the focus of the song from a girl who is “soft and sweet”, to a guy who is “tough but sweet”, Bow Wow Wow recasts the track as a new wave party song, and incorporates a modernized take on the Bo Diddley beat from the original.

Somehow over time, Bow Wow Wow’s version has eclipsed the highly charting original, and is now considered a quintessential ‘80s tune, appearing in tons of movie soundtracks (High Fidelity, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Bio-Dome, Napoleon Dynamite, etc) and on multiple song compilations of the decade. Meanwhile, the nearly top 10 original version has been largely lost to time. But lucky you... you get to give ‘em both a spin below!

(note: I originally had embedded the music video for Bow Wow Wow's version, but that appears have to have since been blocked on the almighty YouTube. So I have substituted this live performance from the UK TV series "Razzmatazz".)

So, that concludes today’s school day. We hope you took serious notes on these remakes, as a test on this material next week will be 50% of your overall grade!

On second thought, forget the test… readers of the Dial tend to be well educated in all things music already! You all get an A+! Enjoy the rest of your summer and stay tuned for more forgotten tunes of the past!

Kyle’s Radio Dial – the more you listen… the MORE you remember!